Mash vs pellets?

[5acresandadream]

A feed store near me is selling layer mash for a great price! I've never used it, and I'm wondering if its just as good as pellet food? Both are 16%. But the mash at the feed mill is 6$ cheaper than what I'm buying now!

 

[Ridgerunner]

I’ll expand a bit on what Percheron said. When the big commercial operations make chicken feed they add all the various ingredients and grind it to a powder. This is called mash. To make pellets that take mash, wet it to make a paste, and extrude it through a dye. They flash dry it as it is extruded and break it off into short lengths. To make crumble they partially crush the pellets. The form of the feed has nothing to do with the nutrients in it. It just depends on what ingredients they start with for that specific feed.

One of the major reasons they do this is that different automatic feed dispensers work best with different forms, mash, pellets, or crumbles. Waste is a consideration but so is moving it to the feeders and the types of feeders.

Another consideration is that with mash the different components can separate out based on densities. The denser particles sink to the bottom so the chickens may not be getting as good of a balanced diet as you expect. If it is mixed up, then wet, then dried it stays mixed.

A typical way to get around this is to mix the mash and wet it before you feed it. It keeps it mixed and it can cut down on waste with the right feeders. A potential problem with this is that if they don’t clean it up the wet mash can go sour or mold. Commercial operations get around this by only feeding what they can clean up in a short time, then waiting until they are hungry to feed them some more. They know exactly how much feed they want each chicken to eat. This timed feeding in portions keeps the food hogs from keeping the weaker chickens from eating their portion.

I’ve never done fermented feed. There are probably a few tricks to that but it should work well with mash. If you use crumbles or pellets they will dissolve in the liquid too so they will also work as fermented feed.

I also strongly suggest you look at the label. Chickens need a balanced diet, including certain amino acids usually added to feed. I don’t know what that mill is using in their feed. It’s quite possible the price is less because they don’t go through the full manufacturing process or are using local ingredients so transportation costs are less. That would be great. Or they may not be using all the ingredients they really need to. Not so great.

 

[lazy gardener]

A feed store near me is selling layer mash for a great price! I've never used it, and I'm wondering if its just as good as pellet food? Both are 16%. But the mash at the feed mill is 6$ cheaper than what I'm buying now!

Adding to what Bullets said, an other advantage of FF: their poo is not as stinky. If I had that option, you can be sure that I'd be buying all of my feed from them in the form of mash, as long as the quality and nutrient ratios seem adequate. If it's a basic 16% feed, you could supplement with some animal protein, or other high protein source when you feel that the flock could use a bit of a boost. FF is super easy, and it really does cut the feed bill. I'm estimating by about 30%.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I called all the different mills today, and I actually found a mill near by that sells 19.5 % layer mash for 8.70 for 50 pounds. I am very excited, all this time and money I wasted driving all the way to tractor supply is soon to be over!

Man. I don't even think I have any mills near me. I've tried googling "feed mill" and nothing comes up. Should I be searching with a different word?

On Monday call your county extension agent. Location of feed mills should be something they can tell you about, though they may have to do a bit of research first. This is the kind of stuff that job was created to handle.

 

[lazy gardener]

On Monday call your county extension agent. Location of feed mills should be something they can tell you about, though they may have to do a bit of research first. This is the kind of stuff that job was created to handle.

Funny, I'm always sending folks to their local county ag. extension. I never considered asking my agent about feed mill options. I've lived in this state all my life, and never heard of any mills in this state, and have been in touch with ag minded folks all my life. Will check with them to see if I'm missing something.

 

[5acresandadream]

Funny, I'm always sending folks to their local county ag. extension.  I never considered asking my agent about feed mill options.  I've lived in this state all my life, and never heard of any mills in this state, and have been in touch with ag minded folks all my life.  Will check with them to see if I'm missing something.

I hope you are able to find something! I just fed the new feed to my chickens, they ate like crazy. Great news too, the mill has a great dairy feed that I bought for my goats! 12.70 for 100 lbs. My husband thinks I'm a little too excited, but I have cut my feed bill in half just by going to this mill, and I am also starting to ferment everyone's feed so I'll be saving money that way too.

 

[Percheron chick]

I think that gives you the right to twice as many goats and chickens. The proof of the feed will be how well they lay,body condition, reproduction, quality of feathers...

 

[Zoomie]

This probably works for chickens, too...

 

[Percheron chick]

Read the tag. What ingredients they use and the nutrient analysis is the place to start.
Mash and pellets is just the form the feed is in. Most small mills do not have the equipment to pellitize their feed so they sell it in the ground up mash form. Most adult chickens however are very wasteful when fed mash. If you ferment or wet the feed it will work better. Even placing a feed pan under the feeder will catch what they bill out and save $$.

 

[5acresandadream]

I've heard of fermented feed but I've never really known much about it. It sounds like its worth a try